William A. Bostick World War II charts
and maps collection consists of facsimiles of cartographic illustrations prepared for
the 1945 book The Ampibious Sketch: Its Function in Amphibious Training and Operations.
The items illustrate Utah and Omaha beaches, where American forces landed during the Normandy
invasion in 1944. On verso are sunlight and moonlight tables, beach gradient graphs, and
current and tidal data. Transperancy overlay used to determine water depth and safe
passage to the beach for various landing craft. Bostick, a former U.S. Naval officer,
created maps for then invasions of Sicily and Normandy invasions and had a successful career
as an artist.